DE KITS

Well good luck with that.

I really like the Trumpeter kit.

Good guy alert, ...

The kit which Mr. Fricke sold me arrived today and arrived in EXCELLENT shape!

GMorrison, it's the Lindberg RILEY kit.

I THINK it is the Trumpeter ENGLAND ... But, I can't remember ... These past 6 months have been a blur for me.  I'm only now beginning to see normal returning to my daily routine.

That was nice! What did he give u?

I'm getting a DE kit from a nice modeler named Len Fricke.  Thank you, Len.

Now :

     Are you ready for this ? I would strongly recommend the U.S.S. Englend Kit .Great model , just do me one favor . Don't make the mistake I did ! I painted her in the shades of Blue she wore . Now you have to use a flashlight and magnifier to see all the detail . Like Stokes stretchers hanging on the bulkheads !

   This model at 1/350 , in blue, looks like she's sub 1/700 !     T.B.

Thank you sir.  But, it was fine.  I was ready ....

Garth :

Omigosh ! Got this thread late .My prayers are with you and the Family  .I still hurt from the wife passing last year , but we must cope . Bless you .    Tanker - builder  " DOC "

Check out the sale at Squadron Shop . . . They are selling the Trumpeter 1/350 USS England for $17.00!

Bill

Thank you all.

Pleased accept my deepest sympathy and my condolences.  Only one good thing can be said about the experience of losing a parent: you only have to go through it twice.

Garth,

You and your family have my sincere condolences and heartfelt prayers.  I hope that she passed quietly and peacefully.  My Dad passed this past August 20, the first day of school in my district.  You have my empathy.

Bill

Thoughts and prayers as well  Garth.  I know where you are at right now as my wife passed in Sept.  We go day to day and cope.........

My sympathies as well, Garth.  You are in my prayers.

Garth, please accept my sympathy and prayer for the loss of your mom.

It is esp. Hard at the holidays. My mother in law passed away in December some years and we think about her every year at this time.

Look forward and immerse yourself in the things that give you joy.

I hope you have other family to comfort each other.

Warshipguy, a FYI ... my mother passed on Saturday.

Thanks Bill.  My kit was the John Paul Jones and I think I even have the instruction sheet in a file.  Mid-70s vintage complete with metallic red hull paint and 6' scale waterline boot!  

I thought it might be cheaper to use the kit I have and tear it apart or fix it and add some PE.  I agree that 1/350 would work ok. I prefer to err on the small side.

Looking at my model the keel forms nicely in to the bow, it doesn't start to show till a third or so down. Need to see some plans or a drydock pic.  Of course I will actually have to start the project to do all this and that won't be for a while.

Chris,

You just described it.  You are correct by saying that grinding and putty work should correct it, depending on how bad it is. On the earlier releases, it was a thick piece that formed directly off of the cut-water extending to the "stern post".  It would be more difficult to remove given that it formed an integral part of the bow.  The later releases reduced this to a more manageable deformity.

I intend on using 1/350 scale photo-etch railings, radars, etc.  It won't be an exact match, but it will be close.

Bill Morrison

Someone explain "sailing-ship-style keel.  I have one I built back in the 70s that I intend to rebuild someday. Is it the bar looking piece running almost the lenth of the bottom? Looks like a little grinding and putty work would fix it. Maybe.  Any ideas on PE like rails, radar etc

I just received the Revell 1/319 USS Forrest Sherman from eBay, which unfortunately does have that sailing-ship-style keel. It looks like major surgery is in order. Rats!

Bill

I empathize.  I lost my mom on Christmas Day, 2006. I just lost my dad August 20, my first day of school.

Bill

Thank you, Bill.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother's health issues. I'll keep you in my prayers.

Bill

No, not yet Bill.  I'm still out-of-state dealing with my mother's health issues.

Pt,

Have you decided which kit to build?

Bill Morrison

Belay my last!  I just found photos online of the Revell Buckley kit that clearly shows that the kit does NOT include that sailing ship style keel.  Also, the FSM article that I mentioned is of a conversion of the Revell Buckley into USS Thomas, a Canon class DE.

I am also looking at  an excellent 1/700 USS Buckley by an obscure company called Mars out of China. The parts look remarkably like those found in Skywave kits, so this might be a copy. 1/700 is not my scale, but this kit looks to be quite good.  It has full-hull/waterline option, separate shields for the 20mm guns, and it is finely detailed. Even the cleats are separately molded.

Bill Morrison

My only issue with the old Revell Buckley and Forrest Sherman class ships was that, if I remember correctly, they have a sailing ship style keel that would be extremely difficult to remove because of the way that it was faired into the bow. That said, I loved these kits.  Granted, they did have detail issues, particularly with the weaponry, but these issues are more easily dealt with than the keel. I have seen many outstanding models made from them.

The December, 1999 issue of Fine Scale Modeler contains a nice article on building and updating a Revell Buckley kit into USS Thomas. In fact, it is the cover story.  This kit might make the best compromise between the three.

Bill Morrison

That old Revell kit was a beauty for its day. It was one of the first plastic kits to provide individual guardrail stanchions (and, originally, thread to rig them), and the details extended to the helmets for the guncrews in the gun tubs and a rack of brooms on a bulkhead. I remember it with great pleasure.

Gold Medal Models sells a set of photo-etched parts specifically designed for that kit.